This invention relates to a cassette type tape recorder which comprises a base board; a cassette-receiving section formed in the base board; a drive mechanism including a reel drive shaft, capstan drive shaft, and motor for driving these shafts; a drive mechanism-carrying board which is fitted with the drive mechanism and disposed below the base board, and, when a 2-reel type tape cassette is lengthwise inserted into the cassette-receiving section, is lifted while being carried forward in the direction in which the tape cassette is inserted into the cassette receiving section and simultaneously with said insertion; a magnetic head-carrying board set on the base board; and a magnetic head and pinch roller mounted on the magnetic head-carrying board and designed to contact the magnetic tape received in the tape cassette when the magnetic head-carrying board approaches the tape cassette.
FIG. 1 shows a 2-reel type tape cassette C. as is well known, this tape cassette C has a rectangular form. One lengthwise side wall of the tape cassette C is provided with a plurality of openings. The central opening C.sub.1 is used to insert a magnetic head. Set on both sides of the central magnetic head opening C.sub.1 are a pair of openings C.sub.2 for insertion of a pinch roller. Two openings C.sub.3 for insertion of a detection lever are formed between the central opening C.sub.1 and the adjacent pinch roller openings C.sub.2.
With the conventional tape recorder using the above-mentioned 2-reel type tape cassette, a drive mechanism carrying board is located below a base board in which a cassette-receiving section is formed. As previously mentioned, the drive mechanism is formed of a reel drive shaft, capstan drive shaft and motor for driving these shafts. The tape cassette is crosswise inserted into the cassette-receiving section. When inserted, the tape cassette pushes the drive mechanism-carrying board, causing the reel drive shaft and capstan drive shaft to be inserted into the tape cassette from below. A tape cassette constructed as described above is referred to as "the Staar type". However, this Staar type tape recorder has the drawbacks that since the rectangular tape cassette is inserted crosswise into the cassette-receiving section with the openings C.sub.1, C.sub.2, C.sub.3 kept on the forward side of said tape cassette as sewed in the direction of said insertion, causing the tape recorder to have a lengthy frontage and consequently a large size as a whole.
For elimination of the above drawbacks, there has recently been proposed a tape recorder, which allows a tape cassette to be inserted in the cassette-receiving section in the lengthwise direction with the openings C.sub.1, C.sub.2, C.sub.3 kept on one of the crosswise sides of the tape recorder. With a prior art tape recorder of this type, the magnetic head-carrying board was moved in a direction perpendicular to that in which the tape cassette was inserted into and taken out of the cassette-receiving section. After inserted, the magnetic head-carrying board approached the tape cassette to cause the magnetic head and pinch roller to contact a magnetic tape received in the tape cassette. Consequently, it was impossible to carry out both the insertion of the tape cassette and the movement of the magnetic head-carrying board at the same time, thus making it necessary to provide a complicated interlocking mechanism to attain the simultaneous occurrence of both above-mentioned operations. Where the tape cassette was removed from the cassette-receiving section, the magnetic head-carrying board had to be shifted in advance in a direction opposite to that in which the tape cassette was inserted. Therefore, automatic withdrawal of the tape cassette was undesirably accompanied with intricate mechanism.